I got the call this morning that my three hour glucose tolerance test came back . . .NORMAL! I was low on all the draws, from fasting to hour three. So low on hour three that the nurse remarked, ‘You probably felt like crap.’ I declined to tell her I actually felt not-so-bad until I ate some nuts and my body got all hot and shaky and crazy.

There was MUCH rejoicing!

We had our 28w appointment this afternoon, though . . .and there are a few more curveballs to contend with. The first is that I gained 7lbs (!!!) since my last appointment. HOW?! I gained 0 lbs in 4 weeks and 7 in two? I know I was in the midwest eating casseroles and sweets like club crackers covered in carmel but . . .whew. The midwife wasn’t terribly worried, and mentioned that she actually thought a good chunk of it could be water weight, because . . .my blood pressure is also high.

Well, maybe. Like a lot of offices, my midwife practice uses those automatic blood pressure machines, which seem to consistantly malfunction when I use them, not even registering a BP. This was the case today, so the assistant took it using the machine with a small cuff on my forearm. And doing that, it popped up at 141/85. She decided to take it again, manually, but using a small cuff, where it dropped just under the cut off. The midwife took it one final time with the machine and the big cuff before we left, and it was at 139/82 – again, just below the cut off for high.

So, the jury is still out. My urine was free of protein, which is good news in any case. But since my blood pressure has been inching up throughout my pregnancy, the midwife is concerned I might have gestational hypertension. While she was explaining it, she casually mentioned induction at 37-39 weeks and I all but lost it. I feel so so so strongly about NOT being induced, and now it seemed like my fate was sealed.

Thank God for La, who saw the tears in my eyes and mentioned to the midwife how strongly we feel about induction. And thank God for the midwife, who fell all over herself apologizing and clarifying that 1) I don’t have gestational hypertension diagnosed yet 2) The practice and the hospital both want to avoid induction and other interventions and 3) Induction doesn’t mean pitocin, necessarily, and she would go out of her way to do what she can do avoid using pit if induction does have to happen.

They took some liver and kidney function labs, and are getting some other baseline data to be able to better gauge if things are going badly. I go back in a week to get my BP checked again and if it’s high (over 140/90) I will likely have to be transferred to co-management by the midwives and OBs at the primary hospital clinic. But, that hasn’t happened yet, and I’m hoping that that my BP will go down and I won’t have to be concerned about any of this – from having to see an OB (and a midwife – have to remind myself of that!) to possible induction.

Unfortunately, like GD, you either get gestational hypertension or you don’t. It can’t be prevented or really treated, aside from increased monitoring. This makes me feel less like a failure, but still bummed about about the possibility of intervention.

Seafoam, though, is measuring right on track and is happily head down, for now (and forever, I hope!) with a heart beat steady and bold, as always.

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First off, yay for the glucose test! That must be such a relief. I hope your BP goes down so that you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Sounds like your midwife is willing to avoid induction if there is no risk to you or Seafoam. Fingers crossed that things come back normal and good.

Relief for you about the glucose- yay! You’ve probably heard it before but you really wont care how they got there when you’re holding Seafoam in your arms. My non-intervention, natural birth was chucked out of the window and I had a Pitocin induction but I really didn’t care. All the same I hope you get the birth you want :-). Take care!

I hear you re strong feelings about induction… I felt the same way! And Followd Ob and MFM to induction at 40 weeks, which led to C-section… I hate to sound like a dang cliche , but all of my complicated feelings about induction really don’t matter now. It doesn’t sound like you’re going to have to go down that path, but if you do, feel free to send me an email if you need some extra support. Xo

Woo Hoo on the glucose test. It’s always scary to think that you could potentially have GD, but good thing you don’t! And i hear you about not wanting to be induced. Callie is dealing with all these feelings now about induction and possible c-section if baby B doesn’t turn. She’s freaking out a little bit, but hopefully that won’t happen for either of you. Glad to hear Mr. Seafoam is doing well…

I am so terrified of GD. So glad you dodged that bullet! Fingers crossed that the blood pressure thing is a fluke. Fortunately, it sounds like you have a great team to advocate with/for you even if it isn’t.

My bp spiked at 34 weeks and they ran all the tests. Everything came back normal. Went I went the following week it was back to normal. Hopefully, that will be the case with you. They were talking induction with me as well and I was determined NOT to be induced. If things don’t come back normal perhaps you can try natural inducation techniques. Acupuncture, tea, walking, chiro.

I hope they start taking your BP properly! You should be sitting with your feet flat on the floor and not talking for ten minutes before they take it manually with the right sized cuff. As for weight, same scale every time?

I totally get your worries. I am adamantly against induction. And I already worry a lot about HD and high BP, because if either of those things happen, I can’t even continue to use my midwives. There is no co-care, they just straight up transfer you to an OB. Which is like my worst nightmare. Especially since Goose has so far been pretty opposed to hiring a doula.

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One research obsessed post-punk political dyke and one wonder-endowed post-modern theater professor fall in love and decide to make some babies. Hilarity, awkwardness and, sometimes, tenderheartedness, ensues.

Herein lies an adventure of queer infertility and making a family without biology on your side.